Arnold Schwarzenegger is on board for Terminator 5 and possibly 6

Megan Ellison, the super-producer behind Annapurna Pictures, has finally closed the deal with PacificCorp to gain the rights to THE TERMINATOR franchise. While director Justin Lin is no longer on board as director, Ellison does have Arnold Schwarzenegger committed to appear in the film.

Ellison and her brother David will partner for the film. David Ellison is the head of Skydance Productions which has produced MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL, JACK REACHER, and STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS. Megan Ellison's Annapurna has produced ZERO DARK THIRTY, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and THE MASTER.

The Ellisons own the rights to THE TERMINATOR until 2019 when they revert to James Cameron. The pair are hoping to squeeze out both TERMINATOR 5 and 6 before that time. Seeing as the Ellisons are being viewed as saviors by many Hollywood directors for their willingness to put their money out for projects that would otherwise be passed over by the studios, this news is pretty positive. Their first correct step was getting Arnold on board. If they can get him to be in the movie, I am sure he found their pitch to be worthwhile.